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To put it hyperbolically, I was looking for truth, they were looking for sales. So I got into PR for awhile and then migrated to sales and then marketing. Mark W. Schaefer. couple of years ago when I started B2B Memes it was my plan to focus exclusively on trade publishing. For me, a journalist, this came as a jolt. Our goals were fundamentally different. Use your head. love that! MORE

This, I take it, is what Digital First Media CEO John Paton, much criticized of late , is getting at when he said that his “digital first strategy is centered on the cost-effective creation of content and sales and not the legacy modes of production.”. John Paton: Misguided, or misunderstood? Print sucks!”. To my mind, that’s not what digital first means. Try This Test. MORE

Does being involved in the business side of a media enterprise mean being involved in sales? And does breaking down the sacred wall between editorial and sales mean that editorial must be tainted? But even if this practical objection is sound, the theoretical one—that any involvement by an editor in sales necessarily influences editorial content—is not. Therein, Martin Cloake argued that content creators have been deliberately kept on the sidelines: “Traditionally, it’s been people from the ad/sales side who have risen to top positions in media companies. MORE

In my days overseeing a large editorial group for a B2B publisher, my counterpart in sales was fond of telling me that advertisers found our editors arrogant. Editorial details are to content as fit and finish are to automobiles: they account for the difference between a functional product and a great one, and between humdrum and robust sales. If you don’t believe me, ask Zappos.com. At first glance, the idea behind content marketing is straightforward and appealing: by publishing great content, you can win friends, influence people, and achieve your marketing goals. MORE

Sales Prospecting Perspectives is pleased to bring you a guest post from David Brock , sales consultant and President at Partners in EXCELLENCE , where this post was originally published. I’m fascinated about a lot of the discussion about B2B sales and marketing alignment. Our marketing and sales funnels basically identify our workflows in marketing and sales activities. MORE

The problem with the strategy is that it won’t, as hoped, “cut into e-book sales” in a significant way. A nice specimen. Photo by Robert Burdock/Flickr. Over the weekend, New York Times reporter Julie Bosman described how book publishers have begun putting extra effort into making their print products more physically and esthetically engaging. They just want the content. What Killed Borders? MORE

Are you a B2B inside sales or sales development representative looking for a benchmark against which to measure your sales prospecting strategies? Are you a team lead or manager hoping to see where your team stands on the outbound sales spectrum? If so, The Outbound Index™ is a must-read for you as you prepare your B2B sales prospecting strategies for 2015. MORE

Though I plan to put the print version of the Survival Guide up for sale, I don’t expect to sell many copies. Last month in this blog, I made a statement that at the time seemed obvious, but now seems rash. Most writers,” I wrote in declaring that print is effectively dead , “don’t care in a meaningful way about the physical presence of a book. They just want to tell a story, or convey information, or to create works of art out of their words.”. Since then, I’ve had cause to rethink my position. Print, it seems, isn’t dead, but just retired. It can’t be done. small thing, to be sure. MORE

Unfortunately, most sales professionals focus primarily on learning sales techniques. Adopting a better sales mindset might be what’s required. With the typical sales mindset, techniques might be even be experienced by prospects as gimmicks. With this sales mindset, you’re going to work every day with an inherently conflict oriented mindset. MORE

Companies trying to execute a B2B solution or value sale must overcome selling problems that start at the prospecting stage and persist to the end. Symptoms include too few quality additions to the sales pipeline, protracted and lengthening sales cycles, and low win rates. significant cause is sellers haven’t realigned messages, sales conversations, and sales […]. MORE

October 25, 2016 by Carla Johnson The biggest beef I hear from sales teams or sales-driven organizations is that they can’t get people to pay attention, make decisions or quit. Sales Storytelling Carla Johnson sales storytelling Type A Communicationsread more. MORE

Sales Context is an important part of any conversation, as it directly correlates to the potential of a sale. With 54% of sales reps not making quota this year according to SiriusDecisions, it’s imperative that you teach your team to make the most of Sales Context, the information that can influence a sale. Sales Prospecting Call Strategy B2B Sales Success MORE

Sales is tough and ongoing sales development is a never ending process. Take it from us – our sales and sales development functions are constantly evolving as we look to accelerate our record growth rates over the past few years. Below are the interview answers provided by David Sill, an authority on B2B sales and the SVP of Customer Success at DiscoverOrg. MORE

Here are three trends I see in the sales world, paired with predictions on where those trends will take us. B2B sales and marketing leaders will need to decide whether they’re going to invest in content creation as a way to make noise or as a way to add value for customers. Sales folks can’t keep up with all of today’s promising new tools. TREND #1: Content Fatigue / Focus. MORE

Tweet More often than not, there seems to be a disconnect between Marketing and Sales. How does your sales team perceive the leads Marketing produces? The second thing I would ask is, when was the last time you talked with your sales team? Consider having short huddles daily and weekly between the marketing and sales team members. Be honest. The say leads, what leads? MORE

Sales Management End of Year Checklist. . Depending upon the person and the conditions in their sales organization each article may or may not be pertinent. decided to start with a Sales Management End of Year Checklist. If you have other ideas or suggestions please comment within the blog so that all of our readers can benefit. ? Evaluate your sales team. MORE

This, I take it, is what Digital First Media CEO John Paton, much criticized of late , is getting at when he said that his “digital first strategy is centered on the cost-effective creation of content and sales and not the legacy modes of production.”. John Paton: Misguided, or misunderstood? Print sucks!”. To my mind, that’s not what digital first means. Try This Test. MORE

In it, the magazine editor described a frustrating planning meeting with his counterparts in advertising sales. Though the editor had done thorough reader research in proposing editorial topics for an upcoming magazine project, the sales staff would have none of it: The topics I suggested would provide the basis for good editorial quality; however, our sales team deemed them too difficult to sell sponsorships. To the editor, this was a clear case of sales priorities trumping editorial quality. But that’s not fair. Where does that leave us? It beats me. MORE

In the latest chapter of its ongoing critique of AOL’s hyperlocal news network, Patch , Business Insider last week took aim at the marketing and sales-prospecting efforts the corporation expects its editors to undertake. AOL, BI’s indignant headline says,”Requires Patch Editors To Drum Up Ad Sales Leads.”. You might object to the ethical aspects of combining editing with marketing or sales, or to the excessive workload. I don’t. It’s what entrepreneurial journalism requires. As Howard Owens puts it , the problem AOL editors face isn’t the workload, but the payoff. MORE

This is just a one day sale, more or less, so if you’re tempted, don’t wait. I don’t anticipate another discount for some time. Managing one-day sales, it appears, can be a bit tricky. To mark the auspicious occasion of leap day, I’ve marked down the price of the e-book edition of the New-Media Survival Guide to just 99 cents (or, if you’re outside the United States, the equivalent in some other currency). Likewise, the price might not return to the regular $2.99 until a few hours after leap day. cover price. Introducing the New-Media Survival Guide. MORE

If you’re like most sales reps, you know how hard it is to stand out and get noticed. So how can sales emails cut through all the noise, increase click-through rates by 5x and send open-to-reply rates soaring by over 8x ? This sales email allows you to speak to your prospect directly. The post 3 Sales Emails Proven to Boost Reply Rates by 8x appeared first on Vidyard. MORE

Messaging Personalized Messaging Social Selling Email Prospecting Sales Prospecting voicemail Prospecting B2B Inside SalesSales Prospecting Tips With Halloween just around the corner, you must be prepared to be scared. However, you know what consistently scares me, year round? MORE

“Why,” I was asked, “must you manage sales leads in order to manage sales? Sales lead management is a marketing function, isn’t it?”. It was with a slight hesitation that the sales manager added the second sentence about sales lead management being a marketing function. The responsibility for addressing prospects’ needs remains a major part of the sales job. MORE

Though there has been plenty of lip service by the sales, marketing, and circulation types that largely dominate trade publishing, their real interest and belief in content has all too often been minimal. In an article on Min Online this week, Judy Franks of The Marketing Democracy suggests that traditional media companies are faltering because they don’t value content. Though at first it might seem odd to say that businesses built on content don’t value it, she has a point. If you have strong owned and earned media, why pay a third party for theirs? Content, of course. MORE

For a long time, “ lead nurturing ” was thought of as something you did with the leads that sales didn’t want. The theory was: leads come in, the sales team gets the hot ones, and the rest go to lead nurturing. It’s when a prospect first expresses interest that nurturing can help highlight hot leads, filter out the junk, and increase the rate at leads engage with sales. MORE

Sales Management and Discipline. received a call from a former client that was concerned about the status of their sales team and VP of Sales-it seems that their revenue was off more than $2M over the previous year and below their growth goal! After that conversation I next interviewed the VP of Sales. The VP of Sales and President failed on one major tenet of sales leadership; they forgot about the need for discipline. Development of a Sales Plan for the new year with quarterly objections/goals. Need more sales management resources? MORE

Neuroscientist, Antonio Damasio stated, “ We are not thinking machines that feel, we are feeling machines that think. ” In our rush to obtain leads, drive opportunities and move the sales needle, it’s too easy to forget that we need to address the emotional needs (fears, hopes, wants, and aspirations) of our customers. Check out How Empathy Will Improve Your Marketing & Sales Pipeline. MORE

But why should a single department, whether editorial, sales, or marketing, “get the keys to the engine”? In Folio: today, Matt Kinsman reports on an MPA conference session called “Who Controls Social Media at Your Magazine Brand?” To my ears, it’s a question that’s at odds with the essence of social media. It suggests that not only do magazine publishers not yet understand social media, they’re actually afraid of it. The unstated assumption seems to be that if someone doesn’t control it, all hell will break loose. Thinking of social media in terms of control simply doesn’t work. MORE

Multiple sales and distribution channels might be overkill. I’ve aimed to make my book available via as many outlets and in as many formats as possible, within reason. What you lose in potential sales and exposure—probably not much—you’ll gain back many times over in simplicity. 4. If nothing else, self-publishing is a learning experience. Don’t count on making money. Intrigued? MORE

Until recently, the only practical alternative for aspiring authors was vanity publishing: paying a company a large sum of money to produce their book, with little or no marketing or sales assistance. It won’t be long before self-publishing as a concept is dead. In fact, it’s healthier and growing faster than ever. These distinctions were once a reliable measure of quality. MORE

Companies trying to execute a B2B solution or value sale must overcome selling problems that start at the prospecting stage and persist to the end. Symptoms include too few quality additions to the sales pipeline, protracted and lengthening sales cycles, and low win rates. But even with active buyers there are opportunities for B2B sales professionals to up their game. MORE

Sales is a profit center , editorial is a cost center. The old “profit centers,” advertising sales and subscriptions, aren’t very good at the conversion process anymore. They love it when their sales force sells editorial in general; they hate it when they sell editorial in particular. Early this week, Steve Yelvington made a comment on Twitter that reminded me of something I’ve been mulling over for some time. Our newsrooms (or whatever we choose to call them) should be engines of success,” he said , “not cost centers.”. He’s right, but I prefer stronger phrasing. MORE

Sales professionals have been slower to change their sales methods to adapt and align with new buying processes and the expectations of buyers. Those who are not actively and effectively using content to sell are missing an important opportunity to capture a selling advantage, lower selling time and costs, and accelerate successful sales outcomes. “Social selling” while new and popular, doesn’t yet represent a significant breakthrough in the way B2B sales people sell. The digital era has ushered in many behavior changes, especially for B2B buyers. MORE

Effectively closing sales is the bread and butter of your business. According to researchers at the University of Florida, 20% of all salespeople make 80% of all sales (also known as the 20/80 rule or the Pareto principle ), which makes securing a spot in that top 20% crucial to running a competitive and profitable business. First and foremost, ditch the the “sales pitch.” MORE

July is Sales Leadership Month. As a sales leader you must always have a vision and action plans for a rolling six months, this is why July is the perfect month for anyone that has sales management responsibility—so why not name it Sales Leadership Month ! Ok, it is not an act of government and it is only Acumen’s opinion, but let’s explore why I feel that way. MORE

These results, according to Readex sales director Steve Blom, “help publishers prove to advertisers—whose own ideas regarding usage may be terribly wrong—that professionals haven’t replaced one media form with another.”. Just because you like something doesn’t mean it’s not dead. have nothing but admiration for the company and its staff. It would be shocking if print didn’t come out well. MORE

But how many corporations will see it only as another tool for trapping yet more leads into the ever-ravenous sales funnel? No writer can become good at the craft without being sensitive to language. But in other contexts, that vocational advantage can be a liability. This seems to be true of many journalists who resist the benefits of new media solely because of the language used to describe them. They’ve got it wrong, of course. But we should not be too quick to dismiss their reactions. They may be on to something. You want a nice, meaty sizzle.”. Related posts: Be Yourself. MORE

The reason for this, he said, is that “his magazines are most often the first point of contact leading to the sale of all the other services he is now selling.”. On the other is pure content marketing, where the money is entirely in sales of products and services. Writing on Foliomag.com earlier this month, blogger Josh Gordon spun a comment heard at the Folio: show into a bullish prediction for print magazines. Although the grounds for his optimism might be questioned, I’ll leave that to prophet of print doom Private Frazer and others. MORE

Emotional Sales Leadership. I was recently interviewed on a podcast based in Europe around the topic of the importance of emotional leadership. In retrospect based upon the podcast I came away with even a stronger opinion on the topic of generating the right level of emotion-that is positive emotion into the sales team. HINT: Run an annual sales trip contest. MORE

Bear with me as I relate a quick story about lead nurturing: A few months back I became a sales lead. Perhaps I was an SQL (Sales Qualified Lead) at one point in the conversation, but no longer. I’m also a perfect candidate for lead nurturing. And secondly, and more critically, these kinds of “touching base” phone calls are the worst possible use of a sales rep’s time. But no. MORE

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Until recently, the only practical alternative for aspiring authors was vanity publishing: paying a company a large sum of money to produce their book, with little or no marketing or sales assistance. It won’t be long before self-publishing as a concept is dead. In fact, it’s healthier and growing faster than ever. These distinctions were once a reliable measure of quality.

In it, the magazine editor described a frustrating planning meeting with his counterparts in advertising sales. Though the editor had done thorough reader research in proposing editorial topics for an upcoming magazine project, the sales staff would have none of it: The topics I suggested would provide the basis for good editorial quality; however, our sales team deemed them too difficult to sell sponsorships. To the editor, this was a clear case of sales priorities trumping editorial quality. But that’s not fair. Where does that leave us? It beats me.

To put it hyperbolically, I was looking for truth, they were looking for sales. So I got into PR for awhile and then migrated to sales and then marketing. Mark W. Schaefer. couple of years ago when I started B2B Memes it was my plan to focus exclusively on trade publishing. For me, a journalist, this came as a jolt. Our goals were fundamentally different. Use your head. love that!

Sales is a profit center , editorial is a cost center. The old “profit centers,” advertising sales and subscriptions, aren’t very good at the conversion process anymore. They love it when their sales force sells editorial in general; they hate it when they sell editorial in particular. Early this week, Steve Yelvington made a comment on Twitter that reminded me of something I’ve been mulling over for some time. Our newsrooms (or whatever we choose to call them) should be engines of success,” he said , “not cost centers.”. He’s right, but I prefer stronger phrasing.

through their own research, without talking to sales—until late in the journey. Align marketing with sales: as buyers complete more of their journey online and sales pros get involved only later in the process, close. Focus marketing and sales resources within chosen vertical. normal point of sales/marketing contact. CEO, CFO, and VP of Sales/Marketing.

Multiple sales and distribution channels might be overkill. I’ve aimed to make my book available via as many outlets and in as many formats as possible, within reason. What you lose in potential sales and exposure—probably not much—you’ll gain back many times over in simplicity. 4. If nothing else, self-publishing is a learning experience. Don’t count on making money. Intrigued?

These results, according to Readex sales director Steve Blom, “help publishers prove to advertisers—whose own ideas regarding usage may be terribly wrong—that professionals haven’t replaced one media form with another.”. Just because you like something doesn’t mean it’s not dead. have nothing but admiration for the company and its staff. It would be shocking if print didn’t come out well.

In my days overseeing a large editorial group for a B2B publisher, my counterpart in sales was fond of telling me that advertisers found our editors arrogant. Editorial details are to content as fit and finish are to automobiles: they account for the difference between a functional product and a great one, and between humdrum and robust sales. If you don’t believe me, ask Zappos.com. At first glance, the idea behind content marketing is straightforward and appealing: by publishing great content, you can win friends, influence people, and achieve your marketing goals.

The problem with the strategy is that it won’t, as hoped, “cut into e-book sales” in a significant way. A nice specimen. Photo by Robert Burdock/Flickr. Over the weekend, New York Times reporter Julie Bosman described how book publishers have begun putting extra effort into making their print products more physically and esthetically engaging. They just want the content. What Killed Borders?

This is just a one day sale, more or less, so if you’re tempted, don’t wait. I don’t anticipate another discount for some time. Managing one-day sales, it appears, can be a bit tricky. To mark the auspicious occasion of leap day, I’ve marked down the price of the e-book edition of the New-Media Survival Guide to just 99 cents (or, if you’re outside the United States, the equivalent in some other currency). Likewise, the price might not return to the regular $2.99 until a few hours after leap day. cover price. Introducing the New-Media Survival Guide.

Though I plan to put the print version of the Survival Guide up for sale, I don’t expect to sell many copies. Last month in this blog, I made a statement that at the time seemed obvious, but now seems rash. Most writers,” I wrote in declaring that print is effectively dead , “don’t care in a meaningful way about the physical presence of a book. They just want to tell a story, or convey information, or to create works of art out of their words.”. Since then, I’ve had cause to rethink my position. Print, it seems, isn’t dead, but just retired. It can’t be done. small thing, to be sure.

Though there has been plenty of lip service by the sales, marketing, and circulation types that largely dominate trade publishing, their real interest and belief in content has all too often been minimal. In an article on Min Online this week, Judy Franks of The Marketing Democracy suggests that traditional media companies are faltering because they don’t value content. Though at first it might seem odd to say that businesses built on content don’t value it, she has a point. If you have strong owned and earned media, why pay a third party for theirs? Content, of course.

through their own research, without talking to sales—until late in the journey. Align marketing with sales: as buyers complete more of their journey online and sales pros get involved only later in the process, close. Focus marketing and sales resources within chosen vertical. normal point of sales/marketing contact. CEO, CFO, and VP of Sales/Marketing.

But why should a single department, whether editorial, sales, or marketing, “get the keys to the engine”? In Folio: today, Matt Kinsman reports on an MPA conference session called “Who Controls Social Media at Your Magazine Brand?” To my ears, it’s a question that’s at odds with the essence of social media. It suggests that not only do magazine publishers not yet understand social media, they’re actually afraid of it. The unstated assumption seems to be that if someone doesn’t control it, all hell will break loose. Thinking of social media in terms of control simply doesn’t work.

Multiple sales and distribution channels might be overkill. I’ve aimed to make my book available via as many outlets and in as many formats as possible, within reason. What you lose in potential sales and exposure—probably not much—you’ll gain back many times over in simplicity. 4. If nothing else, self-publishing is a learning experience. Don’t count on making money. Intrigued?

These results, according to Readex sales director Steve Blom, “help publishers prove to advertisers—whose own ideas regarding usage may be terribly wrong—that professionals haven’t replaced one media form with another.”. Just because you like something doesn’t mean it’s not dead. have nothing but admiration for the company and its staff. It would be shocking if print didn’t come out well.

In my days overseeing a large editorial group for a B2B publisher, my counterpart in sales was fond of telling me that advertisers found our editors arrogant. Editorial details are to content as fit and finish are to automobiles: they account for the difference between a functional product and a great one, and between humdrum and robust sales. If you don’t believe me, ask Zappos.com. At first glance, the idea behind content marketing is straightforward and appealing: by publishing great content, you can win friends, influence people, and achieve your marketing goals.

This, I take it, is what Digital First Media CEO John Paton, much criticized of late , is getting at when he said that his “digital first strategy is centered on the cost-effective creation of content and sales and not the legacy modes of production.”. John Paton: Misguided, or misunderstood? Print sucks!”. To my mind, that’s not what digital first means. Try This Test.

But how many corporations will see it only as another tool for trapping yet more leads into the ever-ravenous sales funnel? No writer can become good at the craft without being sensitive to language. But in other contexts, that vocational advantage can be a liability. This seems to be true of many journalists who resist the benefits of new media solely because of the language used to describe them. They’ve got it wrong, of course. But we should not be too quick to dismiss their reactions. They may be on to something. You want a nice, meaty sizzle.”. Related posts: Be Yourself.

This, I take it, is what Digital First Media CEO John Paton, much criticized of late , is getting at when he said that his “digital first strategy is centered on the cost-effective creation of content and sales and not the legacy modes of production.”. John Paton: Misguided, or misunderstood? Print sucks!”. To my mind, that’s not what digital first means. Try This Test.

In the latest chapter of its ongoing critique of AOL’s hyperlocal news network, Patch , Business Insider last week took aim at the marketing and sales-prospecting efforts the corporation expects its editors to undertake. AOL, BI’s indignant headline says,”Requires Patch Editors To Drum Up Ad Sales Leads.”. You might object to the ethical aspects of combining editing with marketing or sales, or to the excessive workload. I don’t. It’s what entrepreneurial journalism requires. As Howard Owens puts it , the problem AOL editors face isn’t the workload, but the payoff.

through their own research, without talking to sales—until late in the journey. Align marketing with sales: as buyers complete more of their journey online and sales pros get involved only later in the process, close. Focus marketing and sales resources within chosen vertical. normal point of sales/marketing contact. CEO, CFO, and VP of Sales/Marketing.

Does being involved in the business side of a media enterprise mean being involved in sales? And does breaking down the sacred wall between editorial and sales mean that editorial must be tainted? But even if this practical objection is sound, the theoretical one—that any involvement by an editor in sales necessarily influences editorial content—is not. Therein, Martin Cloake argued that content creators have been deliberately kept on the sidelines: “Traditionally, it’s been people from the ad/sales side who have risen to top positions in media companies.

The reason for this, he said, is that “his magazines are most often the first point of contact leading to the sale of all the other services he is now selling.”. On the other is pure content marketing, where the money is entirely in sales of products and services. Writing on Foliomag.com earlier this month, blogger Josh Gordon spun a comment heard at the Folio: show into a bullish prediction for print magazines. Although the grounds for his optimism might be questioned, I’ll leave that to prophet of print doom Private Frazer and others.

For a long time, “ lead nurturing ” was thought of as something you did with the leads that sales didn’t want. The theory was: leads come in, the sales team gets the hot ones, and the rest go to lead nurturing. It’s when a prospect first expresses interest that nurturing can help highlight hot leads, filter out the junk, and increase the rate at leads engage with sales.

Companies trying to execute a B2B solution or value sale must overcome selling problems that start at the prospecting stage and persist to the end. Symptoms include too few quality additions to the sales pipeline, protracted and lengthening sales cycles, and low win rates. But even with active buyers there are opportunities for B2B sales professionals to up their game.

Sales Management End of Year Checklist. . Depending upon the person and the conditions in their sales organization each article may or may not be pertinent. decided to start with a Sales Management End of Year Checklist. If you have other ideas or suggestions please comment within the blog so that all of our readers can benefit. ? Evaluate your sales team.

October 25, 2016 by Carla Johnson The biggest beef I hear from sales teams or sales-driven organizations is that they can’t get people to pay attention, make decisions or quit. Sales Storytelling Carla Johnson sales storytelling Type A Communicationsread more.

July is Sales Leadership Month. As a sales leader you must always have a vision and action plans for a rolling six months, this is why July is the perfect month for anyone that has sales management responsibility—so why not name it Sales Leadership Month ! Ok, it is not an act of government and it is only Acumen’s opinion, but let’s explore why I feel that way.

Effectively closing sales is the bread and butter of your business. According to researchers at the University of Florida, 20% of all salespeople make 80% of all sales (also known as the 20/80 rule or the Pareto principle ), which makes securing a spot in that top 20% crucial to running a competitive and profitable business. First and foremost, ditch the the “sales pitch.”

Bear with me as I relate a quick story about lead nurturing: A few months back I became a sales lead. Perhaps I was an SQL (Sales Qualified Lead) at one point in the conversation, but no longer. I’m also a perfect candidate for lead nurturing. And secondly, and more critically, these kinds of “touching base” phone calls are the worst possible use of a sales rep’s time. But no.

Sales Context is an important part of any conversation, as it directly correlates to the potential of a sale. With 54% of sales reps not making quota this year according to SiriusDecisions, it’s imperative that you teach your team to make the most of Sales Context, the information that can influence a sale. Sales Prospecting Call Strategy B2B Sales Success

Sales is tough and ongoing sales development is a never ending process. Take it from us – our sales and sales development functions are constantly evolving as we look to accelerate our record growth rates over the past few years. Below are the interview answers provided by David Sill, an authority on B2B sales and the SVP of Customer Success at DiscoverOrg.

Here are three trends I see in the sales world, paired with predictions on where those trends will take us. B2B sales and marketing leaders will need to decide whether they’re going to invest in content creation as a way to make noise or as a way to add value for customers. Sales folks can’t keep up with all of today’s promising new tools. TREND #1: Content Fatigue / Focus.

Unfortunately, most sales professionals focus primarily on learning sales techniques. Adopting a better sales mindset might be what’s required. With the typical sales mindset, techniques might be even be experienced by prospects as gimmicks. With this sales mindset, you’re going to work every day with an inherently conflict oriented mindset.

If you’re like most sales reps, you know how hard it is to stand out and get noticed. So how can sales emails cut through all the noise, increase click-through rates by 5x and send open-to-reply rates soaring by over 8x ? This sales email allows you to speak to your prospect directly. The post 3 Sales Emails Proven to Boost Reply Rates by 8x appeared first on Vidyard.

Emotional Sales Leadership. I was recently interviewed on a podcast based in Europe around the topic of the importance of emotional leadership. In retrospect based upon the podcast I came away with even a stronger opinion on the topic of generating the right level of emotion-that is positive emotion into the sales team. HINT: Run an annual sales trip contest.

Are you a B2B inside sales or sales development representative looking for a benchmark against which to measure your sales prospecting strategies? Are you a team lead or manager hoping to see where your team stands on the outbound sales spectrum? If so, The Outbound Index™ is a must-read for you as you prepare your B2B sales prospecting strategies for 2015.

Messaging Personalized Messaging Social Selling Email Prospecting Sales Prospecting voicemail Prospecting B2B Inside SalesSales Prospecting Tips With Halloween just around the corner, you must be prepared to be scared. However, you know what consistently scares me, year round?

Sales Prospecting Perspectives is pleased to bring you a guest post from David Brock , sales consultant and President at Partners in EXCELLENCE , where this post was originally published. I’m fascinated about a lot of the discussion about B2B sales and marketing alignment. Our marketing and sales funnels basically identify our workflows in marketing and sales activities.

Sales professionals have been slower to change their sales methods to adapt and align with new buying processes and the expectations of buyers. Those who are not actively and effectively using content to sell are missing an important opportunity to capture a selling advantage, lower selling time and costs, and accelerate successful sales outcomes. “Social selling” while new and popular, doesn’t yet represent a significant breakthrough in the way B2B sales people sell. The digital era has ushered in many behavior changes, especially for B2B buyers.

Tweet More often than not, there seems to be a disconnect between Marketing and Sales. How does your sales team perceive the leads Marketing produces? The second thing I would ask is, when was the last time you talked with your sales team? Consider having short huddles daily and weekly between the marketing and sales team members. Be honest. The say leads, what leads?

“Why,” I was asked, “must you manage sales leads in order to manage sales? Sales lead management is a marketing function, isn’t it?”. It was with a slight hesitation that the sales manager added the second sentence about sales lead management being a marketing function. The responsibility for addressing prospects’ needs remains a major part of the sales job.

Neuroscientist, Antonio Damasio stated, “ We are not thinking machines that feel, we are feeling machines that think. ” In our rush to obtain leads, drive opportunities and move the sales needle, it’s too easy to forget that we need to address the emotional needs (fears, hopes, wants, and aspirations) of our customers. Check out How Empathy Will Improve Your Marketing & Sales Pipeline.

Sales Management and Discipline. received a call from a former client that was concerned about the status of their sales team and VP of Sales-it seems that their revenue was off more than $2M over the previous year and below their growth goal! After that conversation I next interviewed the VP of Sales. The VP of Sales and President failed on one major tenet of sales leadership; they forgot about the need for discipline. Development of a Sales Plan for the new year with quarterly objections/goals. Need more sales management resources?

Companies trying to execute a B2B solution or value sale must overcome selling problems that start at the prospecting stage and persist to the end. Symptoms include too few quality additions to the sales pipeline, protracted and lengthening sales cycles, and low win rates. significant cause is sellers haven’t realigned messages, sales conversations, and sales […].